Southern Utah Life in Brief

Dixie's Got Talent winners celebrate their victories.

Friends of Braithwaite
gallery contribute to SUMA

True friends are always there for one another to make each other look good and offer support. The Friends of the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery are true friends of art. On Jan. 17, the friends board contributed $25,000 to the Southern Museum of Art, which will be built on the campus of Southern Utah University. This donation brings the friends' three-year gift total to $75,000.

"I am so pleased that the Friends of the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery have been so successful in their fundraising efforts and have been able to make significant contributions to SUMA," Anne Marie Gardner, chairwoman of the friends, said. "We believe that this new museum will show the world that Southern Utah is the home of great natural beauty and world-class art."

The Friends of the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery is a nonprofit group established in 1977, one year after the gallery opened on the SUU campus. The friends also sponsor exhibitions and arts education programs.

Residents can be members of Friends of the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery for as little as $60 annually. For information, visit www.suu.edu/pva/artgallery/friends.html or call 586-5432.

Dixie's Got Talent winners named

A sold-out performance of Dixie's Got Talent was proof that Dixie does have talent, indeed. The Dixie State College Scholarship Association hosted the third annual competition and fundraiser Jan. 23 and 24.

This year's winners are vocalist Payton Kemp in first place, pianist Jesse Barraclough in second and violinist Cameron Hansen taking third.

The competition began in November, when more than 100 participants auditioned. That number was decreased to 30 callbacks and then 15 were chosen for the finals. DSCSA launched the Battle of the Bands this year and of those first participants, three were chosen to compete in the finals. The winning band was Matt McDermott.

All proceeds support full scholarships for students with special merits desiring to further their education at Dixie State.

Louise Zeenati, founder of the talent competition, said Dixie's Got Talent workshops will begin in the spring and focus on how to audition to win. These workshops will be taught by professionals in the fields of voice, dance, acting and other skills. Keep your eye on www.dixiesgottalent.blogspot.com for information.

Heart Walk Foundation
celebrates decade of service

The St. George-based humanitarian organization Heart Walk Foundation will celebrate 10 years of service to the indigenous Q'ero tribes of the Andes Mountains in Peru.

The Heart Walk Foundation's seventh annual gala, Heart of the Andes, set for Feb. 9 at the Dixie Center, will showcase efforts of the foundation to improve health, quality of life and education for a people far removed from the amenities of modern civilization.

"High up in the Andes, they had been living off of potatoes for centuries," says Penelope Eicher, who started the foundation with her husband, Tim. "When their crops failed and they had used the last of the potatoes intended to plant for the coming year, they descended from their mountain home and approached the Puruvian government for aid."

Upon learning that the Q'ero had been refused by the government, "Tim and I hiked up and began building relationships and outlining plans with tribe leaders about ways we could help them," Eicher says. "We were amazed at how the native culture and traditions of this people had been uniquely preserved living high in the mountains and far removed from modern amenities."

During her last trip to Peru, in September, Eicher was accompanied by area writer, photographer and documentarian Melynda Thorpe Burt, who filmed students at the Heart Walk Foundation school in Hueccouno, Peru, and wrote stories about Q'ero families.

Burt, along with film sound technician Keith Owen and film editor Myke Bush, will premiere the documentary short film "Heart of the Andes" at the gala. Additionally, Burt will showcase an accompanying photo exhibit featuring portraits of individuals featured in the film.

The event will also feature a live art walk featuring art of the Q'ero children, silent and live auctions to raise funds for additional greenhouses, trout farms and educational opportunities for the Q'ero people and a performing of the "Sacred Space" traditional Andean kinship ceremony.

For information or to purchase tickets to the Heart Walk Foundation Gala, go to www.heartwalkfoundation.org or call 619-0797. To make a donation for the event, call 773-0781.

Mesquite-Toes dancers to
perform at BransonFest Out West

The fourth annual BransonFest Out West will include a performance from Mesquite-Toes Tap Team, a group of 60 senior citizen women. The dancers will perform Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the CasaBlanca Showroom at the CasaBlanca Resort in Mesquite.

The dance team started in Mesquite with 12 members in the senior fitness beginner tap class in 2003. The average age of group members is 69 1/2 and the oldest performer is 80. In addition, the group will add a clogging team this year.

"We perform annually in the Mesquite Veterans Day and Mesquite Days parades and do several performances locally each year," Group leader Vicki Eckman said. "Our annual Christmas Show goes to benefit the local food bank. We are a nonprofit, so we really work hard to give back to the community."

The group has performed on the Royal Caribbean and Holland American cruise lines and was showcased on the New York City Christmas Tour in 2010. They are scheduled to perform at Swing Time, which is March 20 through 22 at Boulder Station in Las Vegas, with another appearance at Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California planned for the summer.

This year's BransonFest Out West is scheduled for the CasaBlanca Resort in Mesquite for Monday through Wednesday and will feature themes including Branson is Folk, Branson is Variety and Branson is '50s Rock 'n' Roll.

Tickets for BransonFest start at about $23 and are available by calling the CasaBlanca Resort at 877-438-2929 or by visiting www.mesquitebransonfest.com. For information about Mesquite-Toes Tap Team, visit www.mesquitetoestapteam.com.

- The Spectrum

& Daily News

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Southern Utah Life in Brief

True friends are always there for one another to make each other look good and offer support. The Friends of the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery are true friends of art. On Jan.